Ice maker apparatus

ABSTRACT

AN ICE MAKER PARTICULARLY OF THE COMMERCIAL TYPE COMPRISING A HEAT CONDUCTING REFRIGERATED PLATE MAINTAINED AT AN ANGLE LESS THAN 90* AND PREFEERABLY LESS THAN 45* BELOW THE HORIZONTAL TOGETHER WITH MEANS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY FLOWING WATER OVER THE RESULTING UPPER AND LOWER INCLINED SIDE SURFACES AND THE THREE EDGES SURFACES EXCEPT FOR THE ON AT THE UPPER END TO FORM AN ENVELOPE SHEATH OF ICE OPEN AT THIS UPPER END AND MEANS FOR RELEASING THE ICE SHEATH FROM THE PLATE SO THAT IT CAN SLIDE BY GRAVITY THERE-   FROM. THE APPARATUS ALSO PREFERABLY INCLUDES A HEATED CUTTER GRID MEANS IN THE PATH OF FALL INTERCEPTING THE ICE SHEATH AND AUTOMATICALLY CUTTING IT INTO SUBDIVIDED PORTIONS.

Dec. 7, 1971 D,F SWANSQN ETAL v 3,625,023

ICE lMAKER APIARATUS Filed June 13, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 i; Z5 Z5 /24 Dec. 7, 1971 D, F, SWANSQN EIAL 3,625,023

ICE MAKER APPARATUS Filed June L3, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent O 3,625,023 ICE MAKER APPARATUS Donald F. Swanson and Wynn G. Winkler, St. Paul, Minn., assignors to Whirlpool Corporation Filed June 13, 1969, Ser. No. 832,914 Int. Cl. F25c 1/12 U.S. Cl. 62-320 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An ice maker particularly of the commercial type comprising a heat conducting refrigerated plate maintained at an angle less than 90 and preferably less than 45 below the horizontal together with means for simultaneously owing water over the resulting upper and lower inclined side surfaces and the three edge surfaces except for the on at the upper end to form `an envelope sheath of ice open at this upper end and means for releasing the ice sheath from the plate so that it can slide by gravity therefrom. The apparatus also preferably includes a heated cutter grid means in the path of fall intercepting the ice sheath and automatically cutting it into subdivided portions.

One of the features of this invention is to provide an improved ice maker apparatus of the above type with the result that the apparatus can be constructed about onehalf normal size without substantially reducing its capacity.

The invention will be described as embodied in the apparatus shown in the accompanying drawings. Of the drawings:

FIG. l is a view partially in section and partially in side elevation of a commercial ice maker including the plate and cutter grid of this invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view partially broken away of the cutter grid.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged plan view of one corner of the cutter grid.

FIG. 4 is an edge elevational view of the refrigerated plate.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

In the illustrated embodiment the ice maker apparatus comprises a lower section 11 for retaining a mass of subdivided ice 12, a refrigerated plate 13 inclined downwardly from the horizontal less than 90 and preferably less than 45 to provide a plate upper end 14, lower end 15, upper inclined side surface 16 and lower inclined surface 17.

Water is simultaneously supplied to the upper and lower surfaces 16 and 17, respectively by a continuous water fiow provided by a pump 18 located in a sump 19 for the water. The pump 18 is driven by an .electric motor 20 and water from the pump is forced under pressure upwardly through a pipe 21 to a means 22 for simultaneously flowing water over both surfaces 16 and 17 as well as the side edges 40 and 42 and the lower end of the plate 13.

The plate 13 which is illustrated in detail in FIGS. 4 and 5 is refrigerated by refrigerant lines 23 and 24 to a subfreezing temperature so that a portion of the water that flows over the plate is frozen into an enveloping ice sheath 25. This sheath 25 is closed except for the upper end where the refrigerated plate 13 extends beyond the sheath as shown in FIG. l. The refrigerant supplied through the lines 23 and. 24 is also used to release the sheath 25 from the plate by selectively directing hot refrigerant through plate 13 in the customary and well known manner. The released ice sheath as indicated at 25 thereupon slides from the plate 13 by gravity and is intercepted by an electrically heated cutter grid means 26 for cutting the sheath of ice into smaller portions in the well known manner.

The apparatus for supplying the water to the refrigerated plate 13 comprises a water supply manifold 27 and a pair of spray means 28 and 29 in the form of spray tubes adjacent the top of the upper surface 16 and the top of the lower surface 17 containing spray openings directing water onto the upper and lower surfaces of the plate. The spray means 22 supplies an excess of water to the ice forming surfaces of the plate 13 and this excess is directed by means of a hinged guide plate 30 onto an inclined surface through 31 and from there back into the sump 19 for recirculation over the plate 13 to build up the ice sheath 25 thereon. When the ice is harvested as described the movement of the released sheath 25 moves the hinged guide plate 30 aside as shown in dotted lines in FIG. l and then as soon as the released sheath passes onto the grid means 26 the guide plate 30 automatically returns to its original position.

The grid means 26 comprises the usual frame 32 of boxlike construction having an open top and bottom through which the ice passes. Extending across this frame are electrically heated wires 33 and 34 arranged at right angles to each other to form the ice cutting grid.

The plate 13 that is refrigerated is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. This plate is of sandwich construction with a flat steel plate center portion 35 and thinner enveloping sheath plates 36 and 37 of stainless steel sheets on opposite sides thereof. Plate 36 forms the top surface and plate 37 forms the bottom surface of freezing plate 13. The elements 35, 36 and 37 are joined together as by soldering and the core plate 35 is provided at one end with a pair of parallel saw cuts 38 therethrough in which the solder may be positioned during the manufacture of the plate. The core plate 35 is formed to provide a serpentine passage 39 through the opposite side surfaces of the plate 35. Thus the passage 39 from the refrigerant tube 23 extends down along one edge 40 of the plate 35 to the bottom 41, then over to the other edge 42 and up along this edge and finally down again and back and forth up to the other refrigerant tube 24.

The ice maker apparatus of this invention provides large capacity in a relatively small unit. This is true because all possible freezing surfaces of the refrigerated plate are used to form the ice. The only area that is not used is the upper end in order to provide easy release of the resulting ice sheath from the plate. The refrigerated plate is inclined at such an angle below the horizontal that water flow over all wetted surfaces is at a high rate but the surface tension of the water wetting the bottom of `the plate and the ice thereon is strong enough to overcome the gravitational force on the water at the bottom of the plate that would tend to cause the water to drop olf before reaching the lower end 15.

Having described our invention as related to the ernbodiment shown in the .accompanyi-ng drawings, it is our intention that the invention be not limited by any of the details of description, unless otherwise specified.

The embodiment of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed is defined as follows:

1. Ice maker apparatus comprising: a heat conducting plate having opposite side surfaces and internal refrigerant passage means for refrigerating said plate surfaces to a water freezing temperature; support means for retaining said plate inclined downwardly at an angle less than below the horizontal to provide a plate upper end, lower end, upper inclined side surface and lower inclined side surface; means spaced from said upper end foi simultaneously flowing water over both said inclined side surfaces and said lower end to form an enveloping sheath of ice open at said upper end, wherein the surface tension holding the Water to said lower surface exceeds the force of gravity on said lower water; means for releasing said ice sheath from said plate for fall from said plate in a path; and heated guadrangular ice cutter grid means in said path intercepting said ice sheath for double production of ice cubes from both sides of said ice sheath simultaneously.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said angle is less than 45 and said means for flowing Water is adjacent to said upper end.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the apparatus is constructed to form an ice sheath having a pair of parallel planar ice sheet portions spaced apart by peripheral ice portions.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said apparatus is constructed to form an ice sheath having a pair of parallel spaced, substantially rectangular sheet portions with a peripheral edge portion extending between said sheets along substantially the length of the two opposite side edges and bottom edges of said sheets.

5. The ice maker apparatus of claim 1 wherein said heat conducting plate comprises rst sheet metal means defining a top surface on which a layer of ice may form, second sheet metal means defining a bottom surface on which a layer of ice may form, a metal plate disposed in sandwich fashion intermediate said first and said second sheet metal means and in heat transfer contact with them having a serpentine refrigerant passage formed therein, and refrigerant lines connecting to the opposite ends of said refrigerant passage for refrigerating said plate whereby said heat conducting plate is capable of concurrently freezing ice on its top and bottom surfaces.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,730,865 1/1956 Murdock 62-347 X 2,746,262 5/1956 Gallo 62-347 X 3,171,266 3/ 1965 Weiss 62--347 3,423,952 1/1969 Pugh 62-347 X WILLIAM E. WAYNER, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 62-348 

